The present invention is directed to integrated circuits. More particularly, the invention provides a system and method for providing live insertion. Merely by way of example, the invention has been applied to system buses. But it would be recognized that the invention has a much broader range of applicability.
A system for providing live insertion has many application. The ability to provide live insertion allows insertion and/or removal of a component in a machine without stopping or turning down the machine. For example, many modem personal computers provides live insertion capabilities. Through universal serial bus port, a computer user is able to “live insert” various peripherals (e.g., mouse, keyboard, flash memory, etc.) to a computer that has already been turned on. For most users, the ability to use the live insertion is high convenient, as they are saved from the trouble of turning machines off and on and wait for booting time.
For applications requiring machines to constantly stay on, such as telecommunication switching and data server, it is even more desirable to be able to provide the live insert capability. For example, it is costly for a telecommunication switch in a network to turn off in order to insert and/or remove hardware components, as turning off a switch could me putting thousands of users offline. Similarly, it is highly preferred that data servers remain on all the time, regardless whether new hardware components are being inserted and/or removed.
Desirable as the live insert capability is, the actual implementation of live insert has been difficult. To be able to provide this capability requires a higher level of complexity. For example, it is usually desirable for the live insertion not to interrupt or interfere with the performance of the machine.
In the past, various conventional techniques have been used to provide live insertion capability. For example, localized component shut down was a common technique. As another example, pre-charge circuits have been used to provide live insertion mechanism. There are many other conventional techniques as well. Unfortunately, these conventional techniques are often inadequate.
Therefore, it is desirable to have an improved system and method for providing live insertion techniques.